Where's the why?

I saw a one-woman show this week with a couple of friends. The writing was poignant and funny, and the performer was excellent. Yet when my friends and I compared notes afterwards, we all felt something was missing.

We quickly figured out the issue: while the performer brought a dozen biographical scenes to life brilliantly, she never let us in on what was driving her; we didn’t know why she was sharing these scenes. And because we were missing this context, we couldn’t fully invest ourselves in her story.

On the bright side, I knew that this was a Mind Mint in the making! How many times have we experienced a presentation (or other communication) which felt like a series of facts that didn’t hold together because the speaker or writer didn’t provide the context needed to connect the pieces?

Whenever we communicate, we should be know our “why” and make sure to share it with the audience. The why is what makes audiences care. The why is what turns a series of facts into a story that can be remembered.